TeenPact
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| Founder(s) | Tim Echols |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994[1] |
| Location | Richmond, Virginia |
| Area served | United States, 38 states |
| Focus | Education focused on leadership and government, geared for young adults |
| Method | Classes, workshops |
| Motto | "Changing Lives to Change the World" |
| Website | teenpact.com |
TeenPact is a Christian non-profit leadership institute, catering mostly to students between the ages of thirteen and eighteen years old. The organization is established in annual classes taught at the state capitols in 38 states.[2] As an organization, their vision statement is: "Changing Lives to Change the World." Over 3,000 students are expected to participate within TeenPact programs in 2012.[3]
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[edit] Programs and Events
TeenPact offers several different programs and classes on many topics; however, all students must complete the four-day "State Class" at least once before they are allowed to participate in the rest of the events.
[edit] The State Class
The State Class is the base level and foundation of the TeenPact organization. This class runs from Monday through Thursday of the given week, is designed for students of ages thirteen through eighteen and is billed as a "hands-on learning experience."[4] In this class students participate in a variety of differing activities, encompassing many aspects of the particular state government as well as the Christian slant of the program. The class consists of student mock legislative sessions, learning how bills become law, field experiences, and special speakers; as well as a worship session, bible study, and prayer walks throughout the various state capitols. Because of the on-site exams and pre-class homework, this level of TeenPact class is worth one-third a high school carnegie unit. After completing this class, a student is eligible to enter into the Alumni Events.
TeenPact also offers a one-day State Class (formerly known as "TeenyPact") for younger students. It is a branch of the four-day class, held on the Friday immediately following TeenPact "graduation." This class is designed as a compact and simplified version of the longer class, tailored to students of ages eight through twelve. It includes all the events of the upper level in a more age appropriate and fast-paced environment.
A Public Speaking Class is also offered as an extension of the week for Four-Day students, and is also held on the Friday following the normal TeenPact program, occurring simultaneously with the one-day class. In the workshop, the older students are developed and polished in the simple fundamentals of oratory. These fundamentals include eye contact, stage movement and gestures, speech writing, impromptu speaking, and the basics of civilized debate.
[edit] Alumni events
Once a particular student has attended the four-day class, he or she is classified as a "TeenPact Alumnus" and is eligible for participation in any of the several extra events TeenPact offers.
Supreme to all other alumni events in size and participation is the TeenPact National Convention. The National Convention (or "NC", as many students refer to it) is the largest event of the TeenPact year,[5] and includes special speakers, small group activities and sporting tournaments. The National Convention also hosts students participating in the National Elections, where students elect candidates (students themselves) to various positions (a President and Vice-President, and several Senators and Representatives) within the "TeenPact Nation". This aspect completely immerses the students into the campaign process, with candidate websites, t-shirts, flyers, posters, television commercials, and a live televised "TPN" show covering voting returns for both the primary and general elections.
TeenPact also offers a legal-oriented course called "TeenPact Judicial". The week-long event includes lectures from various presenters (TeenPact has chosen Liberty Law School, the Alliance Defense Fund, or Regent University in the past, all Christian-oriented legal institutions), and features a moot court at the end of the program.
Three of TeenPact's events are not politically-oriented, and are run in the tradition of a summer camp; they are Venture (boys-only), Endeavor (girls-only), and Survival (co-ed).
[edit] Staffing
TeenPact is run through several tiers of administration. A board of directors[6] located in East Hartford, Connecticut has executive control of the organization, with Founder and President Tim Echols overseeing most operations. A separate staff of employees in Richmond, Virginia[7] directs the state classes and handles public relations. However, the bulk of TeenPact's staff is composed of two sets of volunteers: A group of "traveling interns[8]," assembled each year to travel to and lead each state's class, and individual staffing volunteers, subordinate to the interns, who stay in their home state or travel, at their own expense, to help teach their state's annual class. Whether an intern within the multi-state group or an individual in a single state, TeenPact volunteers are required to have attended the four-day class held in their state at least once. Multi-state interns must also have previously staffed a state class, and have had experience with the Alumni programs.
[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Third paragraph, [1]
- ^ As of 2008, taken from TeenPact's latest class schedule [2]
- ^ The Daily News Online > This Day > Young people: Burns, Patterson are classical singing finalists
- ^ From "About TeenPact" [3]
- ^ "What I learned at TeenPact": "we want to teach our teens to be leaders." Everyone says it. Now here's how hundreds of homeschoolers are doing it. | Practical Homeschooling (, 2002)
- ^ Official list of board members
- ^ Official list of office staff members
- ^ Official list of traveling interns
